Opinion page editor Rick Holmes and other writers blog about national politics and issues. Holmes & Co. is a Blog for Independent Minds, a place for a free-flowing discussion of policy, news and opinion. This blog is the online cousin of the Opinion
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Opinion page editor Rick Holmes and other writers blog about national politics and issues. Holmes & Co. is a Blog for Independent Minds, a place for a free-flowing discussion of policy, news and opinion. This blog is the online cousin of the Opinion section of the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham, Mass. As such, our focus starts there and spreads to include Massachusetts, the nation and the world. Since successful blogs create communities of readers and writers, we hope the \x34& Co.\x34 will also come to include you.

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By Rob Meltzer

Sept. 24, 2013
6:22 p.m.

There was a time when I thought Eugene Robinson was pretty smart. Then† I thought he was a toady for the Regime, incapable or preserving his own credibility for the good of der Fuhrer. But the column that Rick has just run “Why Obamacare is a GOP Nightmare” demonstrates that he really doesn’t get it. He really honestly truly doesn’t seem to understand an issue he claims to write about. And here’s the sentence that proves it: “The party shows no serious interest in finding a GOP-friendly way to provide the uninsured with access to health care.”

Yes! That’s it exactly! But rather than be proud of his achievement in reaching his epiphany, he reverts to hyperbole and bluster. So let’s be clear–the GOP as a general rule does not believe that the federal government should engage in providing the† uninsured with access to health care. period. One of the things that makes Romneycare tolerable is that it is a state program. The states have the power to perform this task. The federal government does not. Who says? The United States Supreme Court, which ruled that Obamacare did not fit within the rubric of the Commerce Clause. Obamacare is really a tax, and there is an excellent chance that it will be struck down if, god forbid, this massive new tax on the middle class and poor ever goes into effect.

Robinson is close to understanding that the difference between Democrats and Republicans is still a difference between state and federal power, just as it has been for nearly 200 years. This is not new. And should the Republican Party use its power to protect the constitutional protections built in by the 9th and 10th Amendments by forcing a defunding of the Obamatax? Absolutely. The Republicans took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Its the Democrats who raise their right arms in salute to Obama. If Robinson could just get basic concept in his head, he wouldn’t be such an apparent muddled fool.